Rejuvenation helps Otteri lake in Vellore to reach full capacity since 2021 floods

Rejuvenation of Otteri lake, a British-era man-made facility, on the outskirts of Vellore Corporation, has helped the waterbody to reach its full storage capacity on Saturday since the 2021 floods.

Officials of Vellore Corporation, which maintains the waterbody, said that regular rain in catchment areas like Palamathi, Kolavimedu and Naickaneri tribal hamlets at Jawadhu Hills in October has gradually increased water level in the lake.

“Water from the lake is also drawn to meet the water needs of residents within civic body limits. The full capacity of the lake also helps to recharge groundwater in its surrounding,” said R. Lakshman, Commissioner, Vellore Corporation.

Spread over 19 acres, the Otteri lake was built in 1904 to provide a regular water supply to British troops stationed inside Vellore fort. Pipelines and Over Head Tanks (OHTs) were built to supply water from the lake to officers’ quarters inside the spacious fort complex.

The lake has a total storage capacity of 19 MLD (millions of liters per day). “Water in the lake is also used to irrigate farmlands in the surrounding villages. Residents also drill borewells near the lake to draw water for domestic use,” said K. Raman, a farmer.

Corporation officials said that, as part of rejuvenation, accumulated silt deposits in the lake were removed. On an average, around 45 centimeters of silt gets deposited in the lake area every year.

Most of the silt deposits are dry vegetation, animal wastes and grit from the hills that are washed during rains. Accumulated silt was removed for storage of excess rainwater in the lake, which was rejuvenated many years ago.

During monsoon, excess rainwater from the lake gets discharged into the stormwater drains and a moat in the fort. Thereafter, water flows into Nicholson channel before discharging into Palar river, off Chennai-Bengaluru Highway (NH-48).

Corporation officials said that the town has been witnessing good rainfall for the past several weeks since the 2021 floods. With the restoration by the civic body, the lake is able to store excess rainwater to its full storage capacity.

Of the total 24 borewells around the lake maintained by the Corporation, earlier, water was drawn only from 11 borewells due to low groundwater level. Rejuvenation of the lake has helped the civic body to draw water from most of the bore wells around the lake, officials said.

Currently, the total water demand of the civic body is 80 MLD per day. Household water consumption within Corporation limits is met by TWAD.